Kitty McNamee: Bringing LA’s Dance Visionaries to the World
LA POPS UP
Words by Katie Huelin
LA is often seen through a commercial lens, but choreographer and director Kitty McNamee wants to change that. With LA POPS UP, she’s created a platform that celebrates bold dance films being made by LA’s vibrant and often overlooked creative community.
Featuring over 30 choreographers across styles from hip-hop to contemporary to bharatanatyam, LA POPS UP is more than a series of films - it’s a movement.
In this conversation, Kitty shares with us how the project was born from LA’s DIY dance spirit, why choreography deserves more recognition, and how film can preserve the ephemeral magic of movement while connecting people around the world.
Kitty, LA POPS UP is such an exciting and innovative project! What inspired you to create a platform that brings LA’s unseen dance films to a global audience?
The DIY spirit, joy and rebellious nature of the LA dance community inspires me! I have often heard people dismiss the LA dance scene when comparing it to NYC or other centers of dance. In fact, LA has a rich and incredibly diverse dance community that is bubbling with creative energy.
Many of the LA POPS UP filmmakers started as dancers in concert or street dance and then crossed over to what we call “commercial” work - hired to dance and choreograph on films, commercials and music videos for big production companies. As they get more and more immersed in the commercial scene they have less time (not less energy!) for their own creative practices. Dance film has evolved as a nearly perfect outlet for these folks. They are making such unique work and I wanted to share their personal projects with the world.
You’ve had such a diverse career - from collaborating with the LA Philharmonic and LA Opera to working with major commercial brands like Target, Adobe MAX and Mercedes Benz. How have these experiences shaped your vision for LA POPS UP?
The diversity of my career has broadened my perspective. I now see creative life as more of a spider web than a ladder. I take the dancers that I use for contemporary concert work into the opera house and onto commercial sets. As I weave back and forth from major stages to soundstages my work and my community strengthens. We all learn and grow from the cross pollination.
I tend to categorize less and enjoy the confluence of styles in the films that come our way. Another important aspect of my creative life is mentorship. These two factors, cross-pollination and mentorship, may be what influences my vision for LA POPS UP the most.
You mentioned wanting to “flip the narrative” by showcasing the personal artistry of choreographers who often go without the credit they deserve. Why is it important to you that these independent voices and visions are seen on a global stage?
Choreographers’ contributions to a project can be very subtle and they are typically the least recognized creatives on a project. On set, choreographers are currently the only members of the creative team that are not protected by a union or guild. The directors, cinematographers, the crew, the performers are recognized and protected. Gig to gig it is a bit like the wild west, we have to fight for proper pay and credit each and every time we work. At the very top of the field, despite the number of musicals that are nominated for Academy Awards each year (Wicked, Emilia Perez, LA LA Land…), there is no category for choreographers.
Dance makers are banding together to try to change this, in the meantime I want to do my part by shining a light on the smaller, self produced projects of some of the top people in the field. Two of our filmmakers, Ryan Heffington and Nina McNeely, have won Emmy Awards for best choreography. They still need a platform to share their most impactful work, the work they create independently.
With LA POPS UP featuring over 30 choreographers from such a wide range of styles - contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, bharatanatyam, and more - how did you go about selecting the artists for this project?
LA POPS UP has an incredible roster of films that represent the breadth of LA’s cultural fabric. Of course there is a lot of contemporary dance in LA and in the dance films being created here at the moment. We try to balance the contemporary with different styles (hip hop/folk) and formats (narrative/doc.) Some of the films are pushing the boundaries of what dance on film can be, what choreography on film looks like.
I love the curious minds behind these projects! We are as interested in films by emerging filmmakers as seasoned artists, it’s more about selecting bold films with a distinctive vision than seeking a ‘perfect’ film. Also, rather than send the same films to all locations, we curate each screening in collaboration with the venue or festival. This allows us to give more filmmakers a shot at sharing their work globally.
What excites you most about the intersection of dance and film, and how does LA POPS UP explore this relationship?
Dance is so ephemeral, having the ability to capture and preserve it on film gives me hope. It feels like a bit of magic, capturing a moment in time and preserving it. I also love the way that film can pull dance out of the container of a theatrical setting and into the world. The ability of the camera to emphasize the 3 dimensionality of the moving body is very exciting to me as well. This exploration of bodies, space and time through the medium of film is really the focus of LA POPS UP.
During Covid the dance community felt the isolation deeply, we are very communal and couldn’t be together. Making dance films was a rare opportunity to keep a creative practice alive and share work with others safely. I think this drove a lot of folks to the camera and many of us discovered a real affinity for that intersection of dance and film during those times.
“Dance is so ephemeral, having the ability to capture and preserve it on film gives me hope.”
Your work has been described by Dance Magazine as possessing “an outsize talent for that most elusive gift, originality.” How do you cultivate originality in your work, and how do you encourage that same spirit in the artists featured in LA POPS UP?
I really have no other choice - I have to be original. I’m self taught, and never danced in a company setting so when I started Hysterica Dance Co. I had no one to imitate or break free from. My process, in choreography and filmmaking, is very intuitive. I prepare well and then remain open, improvisational during the process. I encourage that same spirit in the LA POPS UP artists by selecting films because they are powerful expressions of the maker not because they are the kind of film that I would make.
I may not relate to a film initially, however I can feel value and authenticity. LA is a kind of Mecca for misfits. It’s fascinating to see how living and working in the same densely packed area can generate such diversity of creative output.
For aspiring choreographers and directors who might be inspired by your career in dance, what advice would you give them about finding their own voice in this industry?
Make work, share your work, repeat. You learn by doing, don’t be afraid to be bad or wrong. Nothing is perfect - it’s more important to be true to yourself than work for external approval. Also I would advise being as diverse in your skill set as possible, that has been one of the biggest factors in sustaining my career. Create your community and stick together, they can hold you up in the hard times and celebrate you in the good.
This may sound preachy but it is key: be professional, be respectful. What goes around comes around!
LA POPS UP also creates spaces to allow rich dialogue between artists and audiences. What do you hope audiences take away from these conversations, and how do you see this shaping future projects?
LA POPS UP is as much about community as film. I hope that audiences leave inspired, inspired to make films and inspired to create community. The films are all by nature a collaboration. I hope audiences leave with a deeper understanding of how rich collaboration can be. Having a ‘home’ of sorts for films will hopefully inspire folks to make more.
Looking ahead, LA POPS UP is expanding internationally with screenings in Budapest and London. How do you envision its impact on the global dance film community?
I am so happy that we have some exciting POP UPS on the horizon. This month we are popping up closer to home, at Ryan Heffington’s DESERTRADE in Twentynine Palms. Next month we will pop up at Festival Videodanza de Puerto Rico. Later in the summer we will be in Canada and then our first stand alone event in Budapest in September. Timea Papp, an amazing choreographer/director who I met here in LA, is partnering with us in Hungary. We hope to make it a yearly event.
There is so much division in the world, I think sharing dance, sharing film can connect us. The beauty of dance is that there is no language barrier - movement can be understood around the globe with no translation. Our hope is that sharing our work draws us closer to the world and contributes in a positive way to each community we encounter.